Seems to me it would be silly not to give AC a try. Since it seems like you’ve got the means for a premium credit card, get that and start flying while accumulating points. You can pick up some other cards as you go to increase your points and before long you should be well established in AC’s world. And if you don’t like it, switch to something else. But if you’re doing YVR-Asia and the US, Air Canada is the most obvious solution.